Social Ransom – Check if it is taking toll on you and your life!!

Fact 1: Apple’s corporate turnover is almost equal to India’s Government Revenue.

Fact 2: The earnings of iPhone X will take Apple beyond.

Fact 3: We need to be thanked for Apple’s success.

Because we are buying.

Buying, buying, buying.

And if we look at it, we are buying everything; not just Apple, but every brand that plays its cards well on us. Every product that tempts us enough. Think of a new temptation, and we have us falling over ourselves to possess it; cars, bikes, shoes, laptops, jerseys, mobiles, junk, etc.

Today we are buying stuff; more than we ever have been.

But are we happy by getting social status? Ironically, no. Happiness is what each soul in this world wants. We all want happiness. We all need happiness.

Statistically, we are more depressed; than we have ever been. But we still buy again, hoping for happiness, hoping for validation. What makes us buy? What makes us check-in? What makes us go on with the unboxing ritual? What makes us chase trends?

The answer: A plan.

A plan has been for long, promising us happiness, and selling us its illusion. This plan has been getting us to spend, and has also been keeping us come back for more.

And here is a talk that bares it all.

In this revolutionary TEDx talk titled, ‘Social Ransom’, Capt. Yogiraj Khanwelkar talks about the social phenomenon that has successfully plagued our lives, and pushed us into a bottomless pit of materialism and consumption. Through research and statistics, through direct comparisons between the essence of the Bhagavad-Gita and the picture of today, he explains how our desires are systematically used to bait us into an unending vicious circle of craving, acquiring, consuming… and craving again… spending yet again. All for happiness, and validation from self or for social status, of which we sadly get none.

Do take out few minutes and listen to his TEDx talk:

The talk gives us a clear picture of the trap we have happily walked into. Where we have all but happiness.

About the orator:

Capt. Yogiraj is a speaker shipped in from the high seas. One of India’s youngest Master Mariners (Merchant Navy), he finds himself grateful to the oceans for not just experiences, but also for gifting him his higher purpose; which is to leave the world better than he found it.

He is a crusader for peace, an active campaigner for social justice. From social ills such as pornography addiction to tobacco abuse, he also spearheads programmes to help migrating students blend into the metros.